Mercedes-Benz GL350 BlueTec 4MATIC: Road test report

Seven seats of Mercedes-Benz, American-style. Although the GL-class is sold worldwide, it’s clearly made to target our country’s love of extra-large and extra-in-charge trucks. Plus, the GL is manufactured in the good-old U-S-of-A, down in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.

Since we said goodbye to our long-term 2008 GL320 CDI 4MATIC, the GL has undergone a number of running changes. In 2009, Mercedes added BlueTec, a urea-injection exhaust after-treatment that made the diesel 50-state emissions legal; and 2010 brought a mid-cycle refresh to the front and rear styling. The badge change from GL320 to GL350 is purely semantic—the oil-burning powertrain remains unchanged—and the drop in the highway fuel-economy rating from 23 mpg to 21 is merely a result of new EPA test procedures required for all 2011 models.